Monday, April 10, 2017

MPIC eyes waste-to-energy facility deal

A CONSORTIUM led by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. secured exclusive rights to negotiate the construction of an integrated solid waste management (ISWM) facility in Quezon City.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, MPIC said the consortium, which includes Covanta Energy LLC and Macquarie Group, Ltd., has been granted “original proponent status” by the Quezon City government to design, construct, finance and operate the waste-to-energy facility.

As original proponent, the consortium will have the exclusive rights to enter into detailed negotiations with the Quezon City government.

After successful negotiations, the project will still undergo a competitive challenge. Under a “Swiss” challenge, third parties can submit competing offers, while the original proponent will be given the right to match them.

If the consortium is awarded the project, MPIC said it would take around three to four years to develop and construct the facility. It will be funded through a combination of debt and equity.

The infrastructure conglomerate said the project would be undertaken as a joint venture between the Quezon City government and the consortium.

The proposed ISWM facility would be able to generate 42 megawatts of renewable energy sourced from 3,000 metric tons of the city’s solid waste per day. This is said to be enough to provide power for 60,000 to 90,000 homes.

“The volume of solid waste as a result of economic growth and urbanization has become a challenge for local governments to ensure effective and sustainable management of waste... An (ISWM) facility is a sustainable approach to society’s use of resources to reduce the amount of waste that must be placed in landfills for disposal while being environmentally responsive,” MPIC President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Ma. K. Lim said in a statement.

This is not the first time MPIC has proposed to build a waste-to-energy facility. In August 2014, MPIC had signed an investment agreement with GGI Energy Pte. Ltd. to pursue such a facility in Davao del Norte, but the deal was scrapped a year later.

Shares in MPIC slipped 0.17% to close at P6.02 on Monday.

MPIC is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. -- Arra B. Francia